There were images of white broncos with orange manes alternating
with Sports Authority logos adorning a navy blue backdrop. A New England
Patriots player standing before it, smiling the smile of the newly rich, a
Denver Broncos pin attached to his lapel. Last time it was Wes Welker. This
year it was Aqib Talib.

In New England, that backdrop has become the sight of
heartbreak.

"We know how much we hated playing against him," Denver
general manager John Elway joked about his newest acquisition, which came
together late Tuesday night.

Despite Talib's comments throughout last season about
wanting to remain a Patriot and enjoying his time in New England, it is
difficult to blame him for chasing the money. His six-year, $57 million deal,
which includes $26 million in guaranteed money, will afford him financial
security for the rest of his life. It is also not as if he went to the slums to
find money.

Denver recently represented the AFC in the Super Bowl, and
have since added safety T.J. Ward and defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware to an
already talented roster. They are the team to beat in the AFC, and have only
strengthened their standing in recent days.

But that does not mean the breakup, as well intentioned as
it was, hurts any less. Talib jumped ship to the Patriots biggest rival in the
AFC, and are now without a top corner to combat Peyton's passing attack. That
is a potentially damning blow and could alter the way New England's secondary
operates.

Talib’s presence helped solidify a secondary that was marred in mediocrity for years, and was something the Patriots planned around. You saw this in Week 4 when he played competitively against Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson, and later when he shutdown New Orleans’ tight end Jimmy Graham for a half before suffering a hip injury.

But that’s always been the issue with Talib. He’s extremely talented, but he struggles to stay on the field. He missed three games last season, and was knocked out of each of the last two AFC Championship games. It was his hip in 2012 against the Baltimore Ravens, and his knee last season against the Broncos. Because of this, New England was likely unwilling to match the guarantees Talib received from Denver.

“He wasn’t on the field a lot of the time since he’s been with us,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said during a recent interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub. “It’s a balance of us balancing all that out and what is he worth. I think he’s happy here and would like to be here and we’re happy with him and we’d like to have him here and now it’s just about doing business.”

Business was done; it just didn’t go New England’s way. That’s fine. The Patriots were unwilling to gamble as big as Denver. Time will tell which team made the right decision.

But another move now needs to be made to make up for the loss. The Patriots could opt to move forward with Alfonzo Dennard, Logan Ryan, and Kyle Arrington as the top cornerbacks, but that would likely mean a return to the zone coverages that offenses used to shred apart. This approach may work on many Sundays, but we were provided a glimpse of what a Talib-less defense looks like after he was knocked out of the AFC title game.

It wasn’t pretty.

What needs to happen now is for the Patriots go out and acquire someone like Antonio Cromartie or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who reportedly had a deal in place with Denver before Talib accepted his offer. If the Patriots want to go all in, Darrelle Revis could be an option.

Whatever the choice, something needs to be done to ensure that the playoffs do not end next season with New England watching as a smiling Broncos player stands before that backdrop.